Be afraid, Moyes: United were predictably lame against City, and Bayern will show no mercy... this looks like the end game

Amid the excitement and sense of deja vu about last week’s thrilling Champions League comeback at Old Trafford, there remained a lingering thought: what if victory over Olympiacos transpired to be the worst thing that happened for Manchester United and David Moyes?

Off the field, United will count the money. Another full house and another dollop of TV money won’t harm them ahead of what promises to be an expensive summer.

In football terms, though, Moyes and his players now face a two-legged tie with Bayern Munich that is very much beginning to represent a possible end game for the imperilled manager.

VIDEO See below for a compilation of Moyes reactions from Man United's troubled season

Oh what a night: David Moyes reacts with rare fury to Manchester United's derby humiliation on Tuesday

Where did it all go wrong? Wayne Rooney (centre) sums up the mood enveloping Old Trafford

Still hurts! Nemanja Vidic arrives at training the morning after United's humbling defeat by City

Glum faced: Winger Nani couldn't raise a smile as he arrives at Carrington in his club sponsored Chevrolet

You're not singing anymore! Rio Ferdinand wasn't bouncing along to his music on Monday morning

Salt in the wounds: Yaya Toure's third goal poured yet more pain on to United during an already dismal season

Man United 0-3 Man City

Just
when Moyes thought it couldn't get any worse! Dzeko double destroys
United as backlash fires up against shambolic champions

Universally recognised as the best
team in Europe, Bayern are the Champions League holders and on Tuesday
retained their Bundesliga title.

They are a devastating, clinical side
with enough history – good and bad – against United to come to Old
Trafford next Tuesday with thoughts of mercy far from their minds.

Should Moyes be afraid? Probably.

The derby defeat against Manchester City felt like another mood-changer at Old Trafford. Coming on the back of endless other disappointments this season, a 3-0 reverse as predictable and lame as anything we have seen in recent months prompted the first prolonged displays of dissent towards Moyes.

That in itself is significant. The ‘Chosen One’ banner is becoming a symbol of Moyes’ struggles in Manchester. Designed by a fans’ group last summer, it will not be taken down before Aston Villa turn up in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.

Surprised? This graphic shows that City's starting XI was cheaper than United's

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If it were to be taken down at some
point this season, it would be seen as an act of mutiny by the United
board and, although no set of supporters holds ultimate veto over a
manager’s future, such open and brazen displays of dissent from the Old
Trafford faithful would not be ignored for ever.

Forget what United chief executive Ed Woodward says privately about Moyes and the certainty of a prolonged stay. Forget what that most impressive of figures – Sir Bobby Charlton – said this week about ongoing faith in Sir Alex Ferguson’s anointed replacement.

Realise and remember only that this is a
decision that will be made behind electric gates of the Glazer
residences in Florida. It will be the club’s American owners that decide
just how far this is allowed to go.

Stumble and fall: Rafael ended up slumped in a heap on Tuesday - much like United's campaign

Nowhere to hide: Marouane Fellaini was just one of several poor performers again against City

On Wednesday morning in Manchester,
Moyes was being openly lampooned by the local paper, the Manchester
Evening News. Bullied and – in his later years – totally ignored by
Ferguson, some may feel that the M.E.N (as it is known) is simply
getting its own back on a club with which it has a peculiar
relationship.

There does, though, appear to be more to it than that. Any local paper worth the ink it uses attempts to be reflective of its readership’s mood and the M.E.N would appear to have done that. Again, it feels like a landmark moment.

Moving forward, Moyes has two immediate challenges, the games against Villa and then Bayern.

Certainly the European game is the major concern. There was a feeling at Old Trafford on Tuesday night – especially during the first half – that Manuel Pellegrini’s City team could have been a little more ruthless, that they actually found the going a little too straightforward in the early stages and temporarily misplaced the wherewithal to put the game to bed.

Rest assured that Bayern will not do that. Pep Guardiola’s team will arrive with a snarl. They will have no particular desire for the second game in Bavaria to be relevant. If they can end the tie on enemy territory then they will.

Right now it is hard to see how United will resist this. They may well have a central defender back by then – Rio Ferdinand and his aging legs must hope so – but that is where the encouragement starts and ends.

Easy: Franck Ribery was on the scoresheet as Bayern beat Hertha Berlin to regain the German title

We are the champions: Thiago, Jerome Boateng, Martinez, Alaba and Mario Goetze with their prize

Dream team: Bayern boss Pep Guardiola (left) and playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger are up next for United

There are so few players in Moyes’ team with any kind of form at all right now that Guardiola may well sleep at night knowing that it doesn’t really matter who the opposition picks.

You could well argue, for example, that there is not a central midfield player at United who deserves a place in the team. Yet someone must play next Tuesday, someone must stand up to the might of Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos.

It is interesting to note here that since October 5, the only two of 29 games the German champions have failed to win have been against English opposition. They lost against City in December and drew with Arsenal two weeks ago.

This, though, should not be viewed as portentous. United will not beat Bayern. They cannot beat Bayern. Moyes is hanging on but for how much longer?